Savor the Moments

I love the post-Christmas week with children happily exploring new toys, no holiday stress or rush and the feeling that there is still some magic of Christmas lingering in the air. Alas, it is almost New Year's and I can no longer put off finding homes for the presents that have been conveniently stored under the tree since the big day.

There have been many memories created this week and lessons learned:

1) Sewing a strap to the donkey hat doesn't mean a thing if the child takes the hat off in the pew. She will make it to the altar only to be reminded of this and have to rush back retrieving said hat before she takes her rightful place in the stable.

2) Giving your husband the video game he has been drooling over doesn't mean much if the computer's mother board crashed on Christmas Eve. In this event have cool gifts for the children to keep him busy until the computer shop can get the part and fix it (fingers crossed that it happens soon)

3) Monitor Just Dance 2 song choices when Teen is choosing for Boy, it is just not nice to have an eleven-year-old dancing to "It's Raining Men"

4) Encourage childish joy, especially when it gives teens a chance to act like complete goofs.

5) Savor every moment...

I'm off to direct toy and decoration storage so I can be prepared for the teen invasion scheduled to occur on New Year's Eve...

A New Decade

It dawned on me that today I have been alive in 5 different decades. Huh? Can't be right, I mean jeez I am not even 40, but there it is. It is a brand new decade. A fresh beginning that isn't plagued by Y2K paranoia. More meaningful than a typical year change to some, and a chance for all to take stock, evaluate shortcomings, and make adjustments.

The 70's offered the challenge of bad clothing. Oh, sure there were worse things in the world, war in Vietnam, a country torn apart, and gas lines. My small little life new little to nothing about such things and in looking at the snapshots it appears my biggest challenge was clothing.

The 80's a time of plenty or maxed credit for many Americans. Computers were taking hold and labs were even set-up in schools. Of course hardly anyone could operate one, but that seems academic. Nuclear war with Russia was a worry, and mixed with the computers of the time you got War Games. In addition to fashion shortcomings of the decade and I had them all from preppy to leg warmers to punk there was that pesky challenge of adolescence and living in your own skin.

The 90's offered much to many. The information age took hold by way of cable news channels and computers that everyone could use. There was still war and strife, but Russia became a friend and the Middle East became an enemy. By the mid-90's I couldn't care less about clothes and the big deciding factor in what to wear had more to do with whether or not it would show spit-up than if it was fashionable or even "me".This was the decade that blessed me with the love of my life and ushered us both into all the challenges of parenthood.

The aughts. If the information age took hold in the 90's it began drowning us in the recent decade. There is still war and strife. But these are tempered with the joy of listening to children (now outnumbering us 3 to 2) laugh, teens gossip, and kids scheme. As I end this decade I look at my wardrobe and find I am still fashion challenged, but happily am quite comfortable in the skin (and jeans) I'm in.

Wishing you all a Joyous and Peaceful New Year!